St. Tammany News

Pope John Paul II celebrates homecoming tonight when it hosts the Sarah T. Reed Olympians at Lester Latino Jaguar Field.

PJP (2-1) enters tonight after defeating De La Salle, 26-14. Reed (0-3) is a rebuilding school out of New Orleans that lost 31-0 to John McDonough last week. Like most teams, homecoming can be a distraction. PJP coach Chris Lachney said it presents a challenge to his football team due to all of the activities going on in conjunction with the festivities.

Despite Reed being a rebuilding school with a small team, Lachney said the Jags cannot overlook the opponent.

"They are very athletic with decent size," Lachney said. "The only thing they're lacking is numbers. We have to keep their defense under control and take what they give us."

Reed coach Gavin Lewis said he has about 26 players who will play. The team has 38 players listed on the roster. He said he has a lot of respect for PJP. He said his team is going for the victory, but he added this will be a good learning tool for his squad.

"It's something we can gain experience off of," Lewis said. "We want to learn what it takes to win. They will show you what it takes to win no matter what happens."

PJP runs a spread offense, which features juniors Nathan Hewitt and Curtis Owens rotating at the quarterback position. Hewitt, who had a good game last week, gets the start this week, but Owens could see playing time under center.

Last week, Hewitt hit on 12-of-18 for 212 yards and two touchdowns.

The Jaguar offense, which did not score a touchdown the first two games, picked things up last week against De La Salle, scoring three touchdowns.

On its first possession, Nathan Hewitt found Curtis Owens, who plays receiver and running back when he's not calling signals on a middle screen. Owens dashed 66 yards to the end zone.

One area the Reed coach said the Olympians will be concentrating on will be senior running back Andrew Guillot. Last week, the back rushed for 119 yards on 13 carries while hauling in four catches for 72 yards and a 50-yard score.

He added a 77-yard kickoff return for six points. He said his squad had a chance to see Guillot in person during the White Castle Jamboree.

Lewis talked about what it takes to contain Guillot.

"We have to fill the gaps and make the initial tackle before he gets a chance to slide to the outside," Lewis said.

Reed runs a 3-4 and a 4-3 defense depending on the situation and the game plan.

Lewis said senior safety Lonzell Hill (6-foot-2, 187 pounds), who is also the quarterback, and freshman Keith Alphonse (5-8, 125) are his top defenders. Offensively, the Olympians run a multiple formation offense depending on the situation.

Sophomore Clarence Williams may see time at quarterback, while his brother Felthus will play running back along with senior Corey Allen, who will also see time as a wide receiver.

The other player making catches for the Olympians will be freshman Keywan Bullocks (6-0, 148).

The Jags' defense was stingy last week. It allowed a 15-play drive before halftime but held De La Salle off the scoreboard.

One area PJP will be trying to improve on is penalties.

The Jaguars were flagged 10 times for 102 yards, including two personal fouls on the first drive of the second half.